A Heterometallic Porphyrin Dimer as a Potential Quantum Gate: Magneto-Structural Correlations and Spin Coherence Properties.

In the development of two-qubit quantum gates, precise control over the intramolecular spin-spin interaction between molecular spin units plays a pivotal role. A weak but measurable exchange coupling is especially important for achieving selective spin addressability that allows controlled manipulation of the computational basis states |00⟩ |01⟩ |10⟩ |11⟩ by microwave pulses. Here, we report the synthesis and Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) study of a heterometallic meso-meso (m-m) singly-linked VIV O-CuII porphyrin dimer. X-band continuous wave EPR measurements in frozen solutions suggest a ferromagnetic exchange coupling of ca. 8 ⋅ 10-3  cm-1 . This estimation is supported by Density Functional Theory calculations, which also allow disentangling the ferro- and antiferromagnetic contributions to the exchange. Pulsed EPR experiments show that the dimer maintains relaxation times similar to the monometallic CuII porphyrins. The addressability of the two individual spins is made possible by the different g-tensors of VIV and CuII -ions, in contrast to homometallic dimers where tilting of the porphyrin planes plays a key role. Therefore, single-spin addressability in the heterometallic dimer can be maintained even with small tilting angles, as expected when deposited on surface, unlocking the full potential of molecular quantum gates for practical applications.

Congenital Hyperinsulinaemic Hypoglycaemia-A Review and Case Presentation.

Hyperinsulinaemic hypoglycaemia (HH) is the most common cause of persistent hypoglycaemia in infants and children with incidence estimated at 1 per 50,000 live births. Congenital hyperinsulinism (CHI) is symptomatic mostly in early infancy and the neonatal period. Symptoms range from ones that are unspecific, such as poor feeding, lethargy, irritability, apnoea and hypothermia, to more serious symptoms, such as seizures and coma. During clinical examination, newborns present cardiomyopathy and hepatomegaly. The diagnosis of CHI is based on plasma glucose levels <54 mg/dL with detectable serum insulin and C-peptide, accompanied by suppressed or low serum ketone bodies and free fatty acids. The gold standard in determining the form of HH is fluorine-18-dihydroxyphenyloalanine PET ((18)F-DOPA PET). The first-line treatment of CHI is diazoxide, although patients with homozygous or compound heterozygous recessive mutations responsible for diffuse forms of CHI remain resistant to this therapy. The second-line drug is the somatostatin analogue octreotide. Other therapeutic options include lanreotide, glucagon, acarbose, sirolimus and everolimus. Surgery is required in cases unresponsive to pharmacological treatment. Focal lesionectomy or near-total pancreatectomy is performed in focal and diffuse forms of CHI, respectively. To prove how difficult the diagnosis and management of CHI is, we present a case of a patient admitted to our hospital.

Management and Treatment Outcomes of High-Risk Corneal Transplantations.

Corneal transplantation is the most effective treatment for corneal blindness. Standard planned keratoplasties have a high success rate. Conditions such as active inflammation at the time of surgery, the presence of ocular surface disease, previous graft disease, or neovascularization make them more susceptible to rejection. These are so-called high-risk corneal transplantations. In our study, we selected 52 patients with a higher risk of graft rejection. A total of 78 procedures were performed. The main indications for the first keratoplasty were infections (59.6%) and traumas (21.2%). Visual acuity (VA) significantly improved from 2.05 logMAR on the day of keratoplasty to 1.66 logMAR in the latest examination (p = 0.003). An analysis of the graft survival showed a 1-year survival of 54% and a 5-year survival of 19.8% of grafts. The mean observation time without complications after the first, second, and third surgery was 23, 13, and 14 months, respectively. The best results were noted among patients with infectious indications for keratoplasty (p = 0.001). Among them, those with bacterial infection had the best visual outcomes (p = 0.047).

The Role of Dysregulated miRNAs in the Pathogenesis, Diagnosis and Treatment of Age-Related Macular Degeneration.

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is an eye disease causing damage to the macular region of the retina where most of the photoreceptors responsible for central visual acuity are located. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small single-stranded non-coding RNA molecules that negatively regulate genes by silent post-transcriptional gene expressions. Previous studies have shown that changes in specific miRNAs are involved in the pathogenesis of eye diseases, including AMD. Altered expressions of miRNAs are related to disturbances of regulating oxidative stress, inflammation, angiogenesis, apoptosis and phagocytosis, which are known factors in the pathogenesis of AMD. Moreover, dysregulation of miRNA is involved in drusen formation. Thus, miRNAs may be used as potential molecular biomarkers for the disease and, furthermore, tailoring therapeutics to particular disturbances in miRNAs may, in the future, offer hope to prevent irreversible vision loss. In this review, we clarify the current state of knowledge about the influence of miRNA on the pathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment of AMD. Our study material consisted of publications, which were found in PubMed, Google Scholar and Embase databases using "Age-related macular degeneration", "miRNA", "AMD biomarkers", "miRNA therapeutics" and "AMD pathogenesis" as keywords. Paper search was limited to articles published from 2011 to date. In the section "Retinal, circulating and vitreous body miRNAs found in human studies", we limited the search to studies with patients published in 2016-2021.

Craniovertebral and Craniomandibular Changes in Patients with Temporomandibular Joint Disorders after Physiotherapy Combined with Occlusal Splint Therapy: A Prospective Case Control Study.

Background and Objectives: The aim of the study was to assess the craniovertebral and craniomandibular changes in patients diagnosed with temporomandibular joint disorders (TMD) after physiotherapy combined with occlusal splint therapy. Materials and Methods: There were forty patients (32 females, 80%), diagnosed with TMD, included into the study group. After the initial series of physiotherapy, patients received maxillary occlusal splints to be worn day and night. Participants continued physiotherapy simultaneously with occlusal splint therapy for 6 months. Lateral cephalograms taken in natural head position before and after the end of the therapy were used for measurements. The control group consisted of 15 healthy participants (12 females, 80%), who had taken lateral cephalograms twice, and did not receive any type of occlusal treatment nor physiotherapy in the meantime. Results: Occlusal splint therapy and physiotherapy combined together significantly affected: the vertical position of the mandible (significant increase, p < 0.0001), the sagittal position of mandible (significant decrease, p = 0.0065), as well as the width of the functional space between C1 and C2 (significant decrease, p = 0.0042). Moreover, the cervical lordosis was restored after the end of the treatment (p < 0.0001). Conclusions: Cooperation of physiotherapists with dental practitioners is necessary in the treatment of patients with TMD, including temporomandibular joint osteoarthritis.

PROTOCOL: Video-based interventions for promoting positive social behaviour in children with autism spectrum disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

This is the protocol for a Campbell review. The primary objective for this review is summarising the effectiveness of video-based interventions (VBI) in promoting prosocial behaviours in a population of young people with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The research questions employed to fulfil this objective include: (1) Do VBI improve prosocial behaviours in children with ASD? (2) Which social skills and interactive behaviours are most successful? (3) Do VBI generally have successful rates of skill generalisation and response maintenance? (4) Do demographic characteristics (age, gender) of participants influence the effectiveness of VBI's?

BODIPY- and Porphyrin-Based Sensors for Recognition of Amino Acids and Their Derivatives.

Molecular recognition is a specific non-covalent and frequently reversible interaction between two or more systems based on synthetically predefined character of the receptor. This phenomenon has been extensively studied over past few decades, being of particular interest to researchers due to its widespread occurrence in biological systems. In fact, a straightforward inspiration by biological systems present in living matter and based on, e.g., hydrogen bonding is easily noticeable in construction of molecular probes. A separate aspect also incorporated into the molecular recognition relies on the direct interaction between host and guest with a covalent bonding. To date, various artificial systems exhibiting molecular recognition and based on both types of interactions have been reported. Owing to their rich optoelectronic properties, chromophores constitute a broad and powerful class of receptors for a diverse range of substrates. This review focuses on BODIPY and porphyrin chromophores as probes for molecular recognition and chiral discrimination of amino acids and their derivatives.

Porphyrin-Amino Acid Conjugates.

An efficient way for the formation of a direct bond between a porphyrin and amino acid through a main chain nitrogen has been optimized and applied in the synthesis of a library of chromophore-amino acid conjugates with slightly modified and adjustable optical properties. The obtained series of hybrid materials shows an optic response characteristic for meso-nitrogen derivatized porphyrinoids. The oxidation with hypervalent iodine shows a regioselective transformation of an amino acid chain changing the character of the final molecule.

Does increased interdisciplinary contact among hard and social scientists help or hinder interdisciplinary research?

Scientists across disciplines must often work together to address pressing global issues facing our societies. For interdisciplinary projects to flourish, scientists must recognise the potential contribution of other disciplines in answering key research questions. Recent research suggested that social sciences may be appreciated less than hard sciences overall. Building on the extensive evidence of ingroup bias and ethnocentrism in intergroup relations, however, one could also expect scientists, especially those belonging to high status disciplines, to play down the contributions of other disciplines to important research questions. The focus of the present research was to investigate how hard and social scientists perceive one another and the impact of interdisciplinary collaborations on these perceptions. We surveyed 280 scientists at Wave 1 and with 129 of them followed up at Wave 2 to establish how ongoing interdisciplinary collaborations underpinned perceptions of other disciplines. Based on Wave 1 data, scientists who report having interdisciplinary experiences more frequently are also more likely to recognise the intellectual contribution of other disciplines and perceive more commonalities with them. However, in line with the intergroup bias literature, group membership in the more prestigious hard sciences is related to a stronger tendency to downplay the intellectual contribution of social science disciplines compared to other hard science disciplines. This bias was not present among social scientists who produced very similar evaluation of contribution of hard and social science disciplines. Finally, using both waves of the survey, the social network comparison of discipline pairs shows that asymmetries in the evaluation of other disciplines are only present among discipline pairs that do not have any experience of collaborating with one another. These results point to the need for policies that incentivise new collaborations between hard and social scientists and foster interdisciplinary contact.

Using political sanctions to discourage intergroup attacks: Social identity and authority legitimacy.

De Dreu and Gross offer novel solutions to discouraging attackers via political sanctions. We offer insights from social psychological and criminological research on when such sanctions would work and when they could backfire. We argue that the influence of such sanctioning ultimately rests upon the extent to which such authorities can claim to represent the society that they serve.